Black mold from home builder defect causing homeowners headaches

The NBC2 Investigators uncover black mold inside the homes of people with a stucco defect issue they're now stuck with. The mold, called Stachybotrys, can cause "upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people," according to the Institute of Medicine.

The mold was discovered during a home inspection with Louis Korchick of Eagle Eye Home Inspection.

"Mold growing all over the back of the sheetrock," Korchick said.

"The wood down here is totally rotted away."

NBC2 caught it all on camera as Korchick peeled back the wall of homeowner Danny Hogan in Cape Coral.

"It's actually dripping in my hands," Hogan said while holding a piece of wood that once helped support the walls in his home.

Hogan and others spoke with NBC2 last week after they realized their homes were impacted by a significant defect that allows water to seep in through their windows and stucco. It even came through the weather-resistant barrier that is supposed to protect their interior wood.

"Now we have rotten wood with houses that are eventually going to fall down or second floor that's going to fall down," Hogan said.

Korchick performed mold tests in two separate homes and shared the results with NBC2. Both showed positive for Stachybotrys and other types of mold.

While Hogan wants to have the issue fixed, so far his claim to the home builder, Beazer Homes, has been denied.

"I've tried contacting them and they won't even respond to or give me a call back. I've done it three times a day, the same times every day for three weeks," Hogan said.

The problem for Hogan and other homeowners NBC2 spoke with is that under Florida law, they are no longer able to file legal action against Beazer Homes over the defect. Their claims to have the issue fixed have been denied.

"What ends up happening to the benefit of the builders many times is time runs out," Tampa attorney Josh Burnett said.

Burnett has filed lawsuits across Florida against home builders stemming from the defect.

"We have hundreds and hundreds of cases. We see it as a widespread issue affecting most all Florida homeowners," Burnett said.

Still, Burnett says many others have had little chance for success in the courtroom because Florida law limits lawsuits over defects against builders to 10 years.

"Unfortunately, the point where you pass that 10-year mark, there's not much recourse against the builder," Burnett said.

In a statement, Beazer Homes said, "Whenever a homeowner feels there may be a problem, and it is timely submitted, we will inspect the home and make any needed repairs."

But Beazer and other builders are not required to notify homeowners about the defect. The company did not answer our question asking whether they told homeowners about the defect.

Beazer noted they have fixed 279 homes in Florida at a cost of more than $30 million.

Many homeowners in Hogan's community of Heatherwood Lakes are now getting their homes repaired by Beazer, but others say they weren't aware of the issue.

Structural engineers tell NBC2 the problem isn't noticeable in many homes until seven years after it's completed.

If Hogan wants it fixed now, he'd likely have to do it on his own dollar.